With SMASHED being screened at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this week, a couple of sites have released their reviews about Mary, as well as the film itself in general. Here’s what ComingSoon.net had to say about the film:
We’re big fans of Mary Elizabeth Winstead and her underrated ability to deliver deadpan lines in a funny way and handle more dramatic material, and this feels like the role that gives her the chance to really fly. Kate is the definition of an obnoxious drunk and Winstead’s portrayal of someone that out of control gets grating at times. We know that it’s wrong to laugh but it’s also hard not to since Kate’s out of control is funny at times… or maybe we’re just laughing at the awkardness of the situations. That’s actually one of the things about “Smashed” that’s intriguing in the barometer it creates in what the audience will find funny.
The Film Stage can’t wait for the film to be released into theaters after writing the following:
Delivering my favorite performance of Sundance was Mary Elizabeth Winstead, with her heartbreaking turn as an alcoholic in Smashed. While there are some conveniences in the story’s structure, they do not detract from this powerful showing from a promising up-and-comer. A single scene where Winstead smiles, talking about her addiction, then sinks into sorrow just moments later epitomizes the talent on display here.
Also, Yahoo named Mary one of the fresh faces of 2012 because of her role in SMASHED:
Mary Elizabeth Winstead: Winstead (“Scott Pilgrim vs. The World”) leaps to leading lady status as a manic pixie dream girl who’s overdosing on pixie dust. Winstead’s Kate gradually awakens to the realization that she is “Smashed” more often than sober. It takes losing her breakfast in front of her first-grade class to realize that she’s crossed the line from adorably to pathetically alcoholic. The party is over. Unfortunately, it’s not quite over for her husband, played by Aaron Paul (“Breaking Bad”) — and it’s Kate’s story as she realizes she must face this crisis, with or without him. Her crawl toward the twelve steps, and how that fractures her “storybook” marriage, makes for a compelling look at a real girl who finally puts herself first as an individual, memorably played by Winstead.
Additionally, SoundonSight named SMASHED ‘a warm, funny, emotionally honest take on alcoholism’:
While it features scenes of stark sadness, personal failure, and interpersonal collapse, it manages to balance a realistic approach to the pain of alcohol abuse with a sense of humor and warmth that – most of the time – manages not to feel schizophrenic, cutesy, or dishonest.
One of the reasons Smashed holds together so well is that its star, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, plays the film’s rocky preschool-teacher heroine Kate as more than just a collection of bad habits. When the film opens, Kate and husband Charlie (Breaking Bad‘s Aaron Paul, who gets less to do than you’d expect) are on the latest of many benders. Their marriage is fueled by alcohol; their entire social life depends on it. Kate only comes to realize the severity of their problem when a string of late nights (one involving a crack pipe) results in a disastrous hangover on the job. Resolving to kick booze for good, she finds an ally in co-worker Dave (Nick Offerman), himself an ex-addict. As Kate begins to work on staying sober, Charlie remains unmoved by the prospect, preferring to keep the habit. As Kate finds solace in the process of group healing through AA, she comes to realize that the process of recovery may mean more than substituting cupcakes for shots.